L.A. Valley Business Journals to Mix

Los Angeles Business Journal and San Fernando Valley Business Journal are changing their publications to serve the greater Los Angeles area better.

Josh Schimmels will be the publisher and chief editor of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He will also take on the publisher/chief executive of San Fernando Valley Business Journal. This appointment is effective April 1. Charles Crumpley will also be the editor-in-chief of both newspapers.

The Woodland Hills office will merge into the Los Angeles Journal’s existing west side office. Both the newsrooms and advertising staff will be combined. All staff will remain on the job and work as one media company to produce award-winning publications. The publishing schedules will not be changed.

Stephanie Barbara, the interim editor at the Los Angeles Business Journal, and Joel Russell, who was an editor at the San Fernando Valley Business Journal, will be the managing editors of the combined operation.

Consolidating eliminates unnecessary office space. However, the primary goal is to make operations more efficient and free up resources for improving the products. For example, editors and reporters can work on articles and share resources. Advertising executives will also have the opportunity to collaborate more with clients to create meaningful and effective marketing plans for advertisers. Many of these advertisers already use both publications for their community messaging.

Schimmels was previously an executive at the LABJ and returned to the company in April 2020. Schimmels served as Vice President and Associate Publisher at the Business Journal between 2010 and 2015. He was also Associate Publisher for the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.

His media career began in 1999 when he worked for five years at the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. He was previously a publisher at Phoenix-based AZ Big Media. He served six years in two roles. Schimmels was the Dallas business group publisher for nearly four years at D Magazine Partners. He was responsible for overseeing a portfolio that included D CEO magazine and its custom publishing division. D CEO magazine, which he managed during his tenure, was named the Best Regional Business Magazine in the Country three times by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers (AABP).

Schimmels, who has been back at the Business Journal for two years, has led the company’s most significant digital overhaul in more than 15 years. New design features include a user-friendly interface, new content features, and marketing opportunities.

“Having begun my media career in San Fernando Valley as an advertising sales representative, this is an amazing opportunity to make an impact on the publication that helped me grow it in its early years. The city of Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley is one. Schimmels stated that aligning our publications’ newsrooms, operations, and content only enhances the overall content we are able to produce in our Community of Business across Los Angeles County. “The LABJ, SFVBJ, have been and will continue to be the most trusted sources for local business news in Los Angeles. This change is exciting to me.

Crumpley also has a long association with the company. From 2006 to 2016, he was the Los Angeles Business Journal, editor. The AABP, a professional association of business news outlets, named the newspaper the nation’s best prominent business journal during six of his tenure. The Society of American Business Editors and Writers is another business journalism association. It represents many business sections of daily newspapers and national magazines and named the Los Angeles Business Journal one of the “Best of the best” publications under Crumpley’s editorial control.

He was appointed editor and publisher in 2016 of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. This publication has been named the best small business journal in America four times in five years by AABP. Crumpley received two awards from the Valley Economic Alliance for his civic involvement. Mayor Eric Garcetti presented him with the “Valley of the Stars,” honor the Valley Economic Alliance bestowed Crumpley.

Crumpley stated, “It’s great to be back as the Los Angeles Business Journal editor.” “I feel like this job was my destiny.

He said, “And I like the idea of merging the two operations.” It will enable us to explore the fascinating worlds of entrepreneurship, business, and creativity.

Schimmels says, “I have known Charlie (Crumpley) for over a decade. We had a chance of working together at the LABJ during prior years and couldn’t get more excited to have the chance to work together again in this expanded capacity.” He is a true journalist professional and one of the most respected business editors in the nation.

CBJ Associates Inc. owns the Orange County Business Journal (and the San Diego Business Journal).

Josh Schimmels

Charles Crumpley